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Minutes of Past PC Meetings
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Minutes of past
meetings below with most recent first.
Parent council meeting 31st October 7 PM Sharon Fagan, Amparo Ruiz-Prado , Alison Berry, Angela
O'Hagan, Ashley Weir
2. Healthy eating working group report Collette has been working hard with the pupils in the health
committee achieving the following: The reintroduction of fruit breaks in class: monitoring of
pupils snacks; collecting information about our pupils snack habits; liaising
with local businesses to seek support; introduction of fruity Friday. Parents to help handout fruit flyer, on parents evening. Breakfast club increased by 45% since the 8 AM start Five
priorities 1. Assessment and moderation of literacy - " I can ..."
statements; experiences and outcomes; what it is we're going to assess to drive
the learning forward. 2. Improve attainment in numeracy - finance education. 3. Development of learning logs - children evidencing their
learning; a reporting document. 4. Developing and nurturing the school - educational
psychologist will be in school more, starting in December. 5. Life and ethos of the school - inwards looking out -
where we going to reach. Elspeth has been working hard to obtain grants for this; the
South Ayrshire Area Committee will consider our application on 17 November; Ruth
to email Bailley McNally for support. The routine was explained to reassure new parents. Ruth Docherty standing down, Elspeth McIntyre taking over. A big thanks to Ruth who has done a brilliant job over the
last 4 years. Liz applied for and won a grant of £7450.00 for outdoor play
materials. This will be set up outside the dinner hall area. £1000 has also been given to the
school from
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 23rd
May 2011 7.00pm
Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Russell Bridges, Melanie Unkles, Sharon Fagan, Elspeth McIntyre, Sharon Henderson, Wendy McNaughton, Anne McLaren, Hamish McLaren, Helen Pattie, Sarah Murray, Helena Alexander, Jackie Clark, Sam Forbes, Liz Mahindru, Caroline Deans, Amparo Ruiz-Prado, Graeme Esson, Lorna Mackenzie, Emily Bass. Apologies: Ashley weir, Selwyn McCausland , Shona Barrie.
1. Ruth discussed the Cordia meeting regarding the tuck shop issues and explained we would need to push healthy eating with our snacks. We have also written to Bailly McNally to show our support for a bigger financial contribution to be made to school meals. Health week – should try to incorporate some aspect of health snacks being brought into school – particularly fruit. The pupils present in the meeting agreed they did not want a tuck shop as it encouraged queuing, they were worried about what would be sold, Health committee suggested creating a chart and running competitions – you get a stamp for a health snack and win more play time, they also suggested doing surveys to check what snacks people are bringing in. They would bring this to the attention of all the pupils at assembly. Creating a newsletter suggesting the idea of checking labels on the children’s food, and incorporating recipes for healthier snacks was put forward. This would also emphasis that it can be a cheaper to make healthy snacks rather than buying them. These recipes would also be put onto the website. An article discussing all these issues should be submitted to the next issue of the magazine. There was a discussion about approaching local supermarkets, retailers for supplying fruit. The issue of an amnesty bin was discussed but some parents were not happy with this idea. The issue of flavoured milk was also brought up and it was suggested that there was only a need for ordinary milk to be made available. 2. Staffing for next session. School role is going up to 351, 13 classes. 376 is the MAX capacity. Already 10 new schools are short on space, some already have portacabins. Catchment is growing, not all placing requests are granted. 3. AOB We would a like a gate near waiting area, join funding with PA? Elspeth to apply to South West Area Committee. Breakfast club to move to 8am. Nettles – Need to speak again to Bailly McNally and get Land Services to remove them. Also need more dog fouling signs.
Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Liz Mahindru, Elspeth McIntyre, Sharon Fagan, Graeme Esson, Russell Bridges. Apologies: Shona Barrie, Helen Pattie, Lorna MacKenzie, Ashley Weir 1. Feedback from meeting with Cordia
Liz asked if the cost of school lunches was discussed. Ruth stated that they were informed that GCC counsellors had voted against increasing the cost of school lunches.
2.
Storage and Coat Hooks for
MASCCA
·
Ruth reported that the issue
of storage and coat hooks for the afterschool club was raised at the MASCCA AGM.
Liz said that this had been discussed previously and she had no objection
to coat hooks being put up on the back wall.
However MASSCA needed to organise this.
·
Ruth also reported MASSCA
were struggling with storage. Liz
agreed this was a problem throughout the school however external storage was an
option available to them.
3.
Trees Ruth
reported that the trees needed to be moved off the allotment and planted in the
school ground. Date for planting was
suggested as 27th February in the morning. Liz
requested that any dead trees removed were left in the school grounds. 4.
AOB
6.
Date of Next Meeting: 23 May
2011, 7.00 pm
Meeting on 25th
January 2011 re tuck shop. Present:
Morag Gunnion of
Actions:
Summary of discussion: I welcomed all participants to the meeting: all sides commented that they were glad of the opportunity to finally air their views. I introduced the issue: that we as a parent council had been asked informally to opposed the introduction of a tuck shop; that we had sought the views of the wider parent forum in the form of a questionnaire to ensure we were representing the views of the majority of parents; and commented that we are very happy with the hard work and commitment of the Cordia staff who work in the school and provide dinner and breakfast services. The response to our questionnaire was excellent, (214 responses, of 240 families in the school), and the overwhelming majority were opposed to a tuck shop. I summarized our parents’ response:
I then invited a response to our concerns, so that we could work together to find a solution to this issue. The message from Glasgow City Council and Cordia is that they wish to encourage healthy eating by offering parents an opportunity to purchase healthy, nutritionally balanced snacks in school, as an alternative to sending children to school with unhealthy snacks such as crisps, chocolate, etc. They say that parents at Merrylee are sending their children to school with snacks such as these, as evidenced by our bins, which contain wrappers from this type of snack. Parents who do not wish their children to purchase these snacks, either because they provide alternative, healthy snacks, or simply don’t choose to offer snacks, need not make use of this service they provide. i.e. pupils need not buy them if they don’t wish them. They feel that they have listened and responded to Merrylee parents’ concerns in that no play-time tuck shop is being offered at Merrylee at the moment, and they have also not introduced their full range of snacks – a limited range of snacks, such as fairy cakes and muffins is on sale at lunchtime beside the till only. We explained that we did not doubt the nutritional standards of their fairy cakes, muffins etc, they may indeed be healthy relative to other cakes, but offering cakes as a snack at all was an unhealthy option – we should be encouraging a healthy diet which contains as little of this type of food as possible. There was no acceptance of our position that these snacks are not appropriate to offer to pupils. They asked us to take back their response to the parent council and forum. They offered to meet with us again to hear what snacks parents would consider acceptable: if they consider our proposed snacks meet nutritional guidelines, they will introduce these instead. I welcomed this as a workable way forward. Unfortunately no common ground could be found on the playtime tuck shop. They reserve the right to introduce one in future. They had no solution to our concerns that we don’t want our children wasting time queuing, and don’t want them spending money in school that they don’t have to. We could not reach agreement that crisps, muffins, fairy cakes and cookies are not a healthy choice to offer children, regardless of their relative nutritional standards. This will be discussed at the next parent council meeting, on Thursday 17th February 2011. Ruth Doherty Chair of Merrylee Parent Council 25.01.11 Note of Meeting –
18 January 2011 Present: Ruth Doherty (chair), Liz Mahindru, Helen Pattie, Elspeth McIntyre, Shona Barrie, Sharon Fagan, Graeme Esson, Selwyn McCausland, Russell Bridges. 1. Apologies: none noted 2. Matters Arising
3. Correspondence There was discussion of the email received from Ian Hood. Issues were reported re placing items on the website. This will be clarified with Luisa and a meeting organised for a demonstration. 4. Breakfast Clubs Working parents depend upon the provision of breakfast club facilities. Liz confirmed take up at Merrylee is around 18% of the pupil population. It was felt this was probably not representative as many families only use a day or two a week and the actual number of families affected by removal of / changes to the facility would be considerable. Liz described the Council’s responsibility to provide wrap around care in terms of the Child Care Strategy, encompassing the hrs of 8am – 6 pm. The consultation closes on 28 February and it was agreed Ruth respond on behalf of the PC. A number of suggestions were agreed: · An earlier opening time of 8 am · A facility to buy a term / a month in advance 5. AOB
6. Date of Next Meeting: 17 Feb 2011, 7.30 pm
Minutes of Meeting held on
Monday 15th
November, 2010 7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Melanie
Unkles, Liz Mahindru, Wendy McNaughton, Sharon Fagan, Amparo Ruiz-Prado,
Lorna Mackenzie, Russell Bridges, Selwyn McCausland, Graeme Esson, Felicity
Steers, Helen Pattie, Sharon Henderson, Elspeth McIntyre, Shona Barrie,
Lorna MacKenzie Apologies: Ashley weir MEETING TO ADDRESS TUCK SHOP ISSUES It was agreed that most parents supply a
mid-morning snack. Fresh Fruit is being discontinued in
December – Russell is going to speak to people in Sainsbury’s, anyone with
contact in local shops – ask around. Within the next newsletter it was suggested
that there was a paragraph putting pressure on parents to NOT give money for
the tuck shop. There was not even an acknowledgement from
the council when our survey results were emailed to them. Time to
bring in Baillie McNally? Getting the children behind it will help
influence them? Should we send the survey to other schools
to get more support? OLA has been in touch and wants the
information from the survey. It was hoped that someone from Cordia and
the Council would attend this meeting; however another meeting has been
scheduled where they are going to attend with a smaller group of PC members.
Once this meeting has taken place the outcome can be fed back to Jill
Ledgerwood who can arrange a press/ media release. A copy of the survey results is to be sent
to Catherine Farrow – Quality Improvement Officer. Survey results to go on our website. AOB
Jill Ledgerwood is going to write a
piece about road safety, showing the children’s involvement, all
publicity will go on our website.
4 priorities: 1. Assessment – curriculum for excellence 2. Curriculum – no huge changes, children recording how they are learning and what they are doing. Skills for IT. 3. Outdoor Learning. 4. Parental Partnership – the
questionnaire that was sent out was very positive, homework was
highlighted. PC to set up a sub group (Sharon Henderson, Sharon
Fagan, Helen Pattie, Wendy McNaughton, Elspeth McIntyre, Ruth Docherty
and Amparo Ruiz-Prado) to look into what parents want in terms of
homework, purpose of it?, Educate parents about homework. DATE OF NEXT MEETING TUESDAY 18TH JANUARY 2011, 6.30PM FOR HOMEWORK SUBGROUP, 7.30 FOR ALL PC MEMBERS. Merrylee Primary School Minutes of Meeting held on
Monday 18th
October 7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Melanie
Unkles, Liz Mahindru, Wendy McNaughton, Sharon Fagan, Amparo Ruiz-Prado,
Lorna Mackenzie, Russell Bridges, Selwyn McCausland Apologies: Sharon Henderson, Elspeth
McIntyre, Graeme Esson, Felicity Steers, Helen Pattie, Ashley weir 1. Appointment of treasurer and person
to look after website. Treasurer was previously Nikki Sinclair;
this will now be taken over by Lorna Mackenzie. The website was previously managed by
Louisa Khane; this will now be done jointly by Russell Bridges and Selwyn
McCausland. Jill Ledgerwood (Rory Stevenson’s mum P2a)
has taken over the Media communications for the school. 2. The Tuck Shop A representative from Cordia was expected to attend but did not show up for meeting. All other schools in Glasgow City Council – except Battlefield and Merrylee - are now selling food through the Tuck Shop, at break time and at lunch time. Break time will be lost due to queuing. They are proposing to sell cakes, muffins, Capri suns, milk, fruit, crisps etc They did a trial run with ice lollies and made over £100 in one day! Extortion! Kids not buying lunch and using money for tuck shop, stolen money, ‘I’ll be your best friend’ etc, so this was stopped. Cakes, muffins now sold at till so kids
still have to buy lunch and can be monitored. Questionnaire being drawn up and
distributed at parents’ night – help to raise awareness. Jill Ledgerwood to contact Jamie Oliver’s
press office to see if they can comment/get involved.
Walking Bus – Sharon Fagan 2 routes checked and ready – Elrig Road and the end of Frenleigh Road. Earlspark being done next. 1 bus per week to start. Parking an issue again – may do more
patrols? School Improvement Plan and School Budget
to go on next agenda – these are currently on the school website. Launch of Outdoor Classroom – The Duke of
Hamilton asked - trees for this classroom have come from his estate.
Monday 15th November at 7pm.
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 18th
January 2010 7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Elspeth McIntyre, Melanie Unkles, Helen Pattie, Liz Mahindru, Shona Barrie, Louisa Khane, Nikki Sinclair, Wendy McNaughton, Sharon Henderson
1.
Apologies:
Maureen Malloy, Ashley Weir, Sharon Fagan, Andy Sloan, Graeme Esson, Felicity Steers, Gail Ollason.
2.
Matters Arising: Elspeth and Gail had been working on the list given by Linda Devlin, from the list of charities submitted they have identified: Mary Andrew Charitable Trust Awards for All O2 It’s your community Forward Tesco Charity Trust and Scottish Community Foundation have been applied for online. Benji Barsanti will come and see us after the summer.
3.
Correspondence: Bailey McNally has contacted the police about drivers, watch this space…. A nice email has been sent into the website.
4.
Curriculum for Excellence:
There is more information/education being put into primary, we have already been integrating this for some time so the effect of these changes on Merrylee will be minimal. It was discussed that teaching has changed so much and it is now far from repeating teaching the same thing each year, but learning from the children and enabling them to understand what they are learning. A Questionnaire was being issued to parents – everyone was being encouraged to respond.
5.
AOB Maureen Malloy is stepping down, but will stay on the PA. Gail Ollason and Nikki Sinclair (treasurer) is also stepping down. We are very grateful for all their help and support over the years. Nikki thought the size of the PC was too large, max 13 parents plus 2 teachers, this view was not shared by others and it was proposed that there should be more integration with the PA. Nikki as the treasurer was going to produce a final report. There was a discussion with regard to the size of the P6 class, it was unanimously agreed that the best option was to have 34 pupils if the teachers were in agreement.
6.
Date
of next meeting: This will be our AGM, in combination with the PA, 20th September 2010.
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 29th March 2010
7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Gail Ollason, Elspeth McIntyre, Melanie Unkles, Helen Pattie, Liz Mahindru, Shona Barrie, Louisa Khane, Graeme Esson, Nikki Sinclair, Wendy McNaughton.
1.
Apologies:
Maureen
Malloy, Ashley Weir, Sharon Fagan, Andy Sloan,
Louisa Khane, Felicity Steers, sharon
2.
Matters Arising : The meeting with the Community Council went well. Flashing light s are now going to be moved. Health and Well Being, Head Teacher Awards, submitted. 3.
School Traffic Incidents : Recently there have been 4 incidences. Proposal to film outside the school to record incidents, on an ad hoc basis, was put forward so that a record could be made of all issues that occurred. Recording of number plates and reporting people was also suggested so that cases could be built up and the community action team could be informed. It was also proposed that these should be put on both the PC and school websites, and that a leaflet should be sent home to parents highlighting one particular incident.
4.
Parent Council money: outdoor classroom/ gate & path/ school funds:
The remaining money in the account has now been given to the PA for the outdoor classroom, this has enabled us to show the council our empty bank account and thus get funding in for next year.
5.
Path
– funding options provided by Linda Devlin: A list of funding options was provided to us by Linda Devlin, our aim is to finding funding through one of these grants. Gail Ollason and Elspeth McIntyre have formed a sub group to look into this. We are also hoping that Ballie McNally will contribute as he previously stated.
6.
AOB Ruth is going to approach RES for more money to put towards the Urban Jungle. Another Publicity Officer is required to help Graeme, a P1 mum Jill Ledgerwood has potentially put herself forward. Bengy Barsanti – the
7.
Date
of next meeting: 7th June 2010
Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 18th
January 7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Sharon Fagan, Gail Ollason, Elspeth McIntyre, Melanie Unkles, Helen Pattie, Liz Mahindru, Shona Barrie, Maureen Malloy, Ashley Weir. Apologies: Graeme Esson, Andy Sloan, Nikki Sinclair, Wendy McNaughton, Louisa Khane, Felicity Steers 1.
Matters Arising : 2.
Proposal for council on new pedestrian areas: Based on Felicity’s
Report: Firstly we all thought the report was fantastic and very professional looking. Ballie McNally met with June Bell (Chair of local area committee) and proposed to take existing fence back to inset (no money for path), and tidy up bin area. Felicity’s proposal is to be sent to Maureen McKenna, Iain
Robertson (Director of resources), Baillie McNally, June Lottery funding is to be looked into, may be a surplus in the
fund -
ACTION RUTH
3.
Media
contact for Merrylee Primary – volunteer needed
This was undertaken by Louisa in the past, we are now looking for someone to take this job over. It involves writing articles about the school (including photos) which are then submitted to the press (after Liz has approved them.) They also go onto the school website and help to promote the school, raising its profile. Volunteers to be discussed at the next meeting – may require two people.
4.
Paths
– Ice and Dog Fouling It was suggested that the kids in the Health Committee do a project on the Dog Fouling problem for submitting to the papers and also to attach to the fences surrounding the school. Name and shame was also a suggestion, thus the CCTV cameras have been moved to highlight the problem areas. Big thanks were given to the janitors who worked especially hard throughout the bad weather to keep the paths around the school as clear as possible – an ominous task as stocks of salt and grit depleted! 5.
Willow workshop - February Ruth has already e-mailed RES and had no response, we are now
going to approach Renewable Energy Systems, and Liz will also follow this up
with Hugh from the Forestry commission.
– ACTION LIZ, RUTH It was proposed that a workshop with parents and children
should run sometime in February so that the It was though there may be extra money available for the
Urban Jungle through the South East Area Committee
– ACTION RUTH, TO CONYACT FLORA WARDLAW.
5.
AOB Health committee – Sharon Fagan suggested another push on healthy snacks, where they could be monitored and rewarded and spot checks could take place. This will be passed on but we were reassured that there is always aspects of healthy eating being taught in the classroom. Quality Assurance – Merrylee has received and excellent report, this will be mentioned in the school’s newsletter and will also be available to view on the schools website. There are two conferences happening on Wednesday 24th February – all are welcome: SNPICL Conference, Victoria Quay,
Next Meeting: Monday 29th
March 2010, 7pm
Minutes of Meeting held 25 November 2009 at
7.00pm Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Sharon Fagan, , Louisa Khane, Gail Ollason, Elspeth McIntyre, Melanie Unkles, , Helen Pattie, Liz Mahindru, Felicity Steers, Sharon Henderson, Baillie McNally. Apologies: Graeme Esson, Andy Sloan, Ashley Weir, Nikki Sinclair, Maureen Malloy, Shona Barrie, Wendy McNaughton. Update from Baillie
McNally (& Harry Laird) 1. Drop of point – acknowledged that it was not working well. 2. Discussed the possibility of moving the fence and putting in a gate – Liz has discussed this with Archie from CBC; unfortunately this job would be too small for them to take on unless it was done through the architect. Possibility of finding another source of money to do this? Tanks under fence may cause problems? 3. Weeds on the path, Action - Baillie McNally - now dealt with.
4.
Parking in the tennis club – Baillie McNally
is going to go back to them to see if we can get permission to use their car
park to drop off at 9am and pick up at 3pm.
Maybe good idea to rally all parents who are members to put it to the
committee?
Action – Ballie McNally, All
5.
6. The driver of the bus has been made aware to Baillie McNally and he is going to pursue this with SPT, we look forward to hearing the outcome of this. 7. The barrier at the top of the lane is to be extended – various views on this were discussed. It is thought this may only encourage more people to gather here and lean on barrier whilst waiting for children; however it was also said that it will help to keep the children off the road at this busy pedestrian junction. Overall it was decided that this would be good in conjunction with the fencing alterations. 8. Proposal for new road markings have now gone forward to the committee – could be a year before anything is decided. 9. Traffic wardens / police will now be much more visible at drop off / pick up times and will be enforcing zigzags etc. Traffic Issues –
Collation of photos and information
1.
20 MPH signs and speed bumps discussed,
pedestrian crossing issues aired.
The road opposite school – is not actually marked as one way but all residents
use it this way, thus encouraging free flowing traffic – parents are to be
encouraged to use these roads in this manner – a letter is to be sent home
highlighting this.
Action – Liz. 2. Felicity has created a draft document highlighting all problems and issues with both pedestrian and motor congestion. Everyone is encouraged to develop this and contribute their thoughts. It will contain all ideas, potential solutions, costings and photographic evidence to back up all information. Action – All. 3. The use of a speed gun, and naming and shaming has also been mentioned, Claire Wallace could be used here, she may also be useful in finding additional funding for moving the fence.
A O B Ruth thanked Ballie McNally for his time and help in resolving our issues. Thanks were also given to those who took photos of the congestion.
Next Meetings: Monday 18th
January 2010, 7pm
Minutes of Meeting held 02 November 2009 at 7.00pm Present: Apologies:
1.
Catering Manager Anne Marie (school) and Kathleen O’Donnell (area). New menu introduced, and healthy eating / 5 a day discussed. Effort to be made to ensure Halal food is always available and does not run out. Made aware of how flexibility our
particular kitchen is and thus an alternative is always available to the
children. A selection of food was laid out to
see what children can get for £1.15. Discussion as to whether the
cashless system is a viable option for Merrylee. 2. School travel plan – Claire Wallace. Aims to help, in all ways, to cut down our transport problems
to and from school. Main suggestion
was a survey to be designed by pupils and put to parents.
Once decisions have been made on the appropriate actions needed, Claire
will inform the relevant council departments of our requirements for funding for
these.
ACTION: Claire Wallace. 3. Minutes of previous meeting – matters arising. As the previous meeting had been an AGM along with the PA there were no matters arising. 4. Election of posts Melanie Unkles has taken on the post of Secretary and will be
shadowed by In the absence of 5. School Development Plan Liz gave us an overview of the school’s priority for improvement in the current year a) Active Learning, how the children learn, inform parents of active learning, building confidence. b) Literacy Across Learning. c) Assessment of Talking and Listening. d) Health and Well Being, how we are all good at something. e) Self-Evaluation. f) New Sex Education Curriculum. It was agreed that a link to the development plan will be put
onto the web site.
ACTION:
Helen
Pattie 6. Road safety proposals from the Council. A minimal response was received from the council. They do not seem overly concerned and are not going to be moving the 20 signs from the area of the old school. Their only change to the current road layout will be to introduce additional loading areas. It was decided that Claire Wallace would be useful in helping us push through our agreed plans with the Council. Ruth will write to Bailie MacNally asking for his support and also to ask him to help regarding renewal of worn-away road markings. The school is going to speak to the Newlands Tennis Club with regards to the nettles on the path and trimming the trees that are overhanging the pavement. The possibility of using the community entrance for pupils in the morning was also discussed, so as to ease the congestion. It was decided that photos were needed to gain proof of congestion both before and after school. The gate at the top of the lane by the tennis club is sometimes closed, Liz will ensure new janitors know to open it. A gate at the front of the school leading to breakfast club would be particularly useful – we will pursue this through Bailie Mac Nally, the council directly and Claire Wallace.
ACTION –
7.
Finance Report. Money has not yet arrived from the school budget, a donation of £20.00 was kindly received from Andrew Marshall’s grandparents, and a thank you letter is to be sent. ACTION – Mel Unkles
8.
This is to be done in February. ACTION –
9.
A O B Liz thanked everybody for their help in the Urban Jungle. Quality Assurance is taking place in the school on the 24th , 26th November and the 1st December.
10.
Next Meetings: a) Traffic meeting
Wednesday 25th November 7pm, directly before PA meeting. b) Full meeting Monday
18th January 2010, 7pm Minutes of Meeting held 2nd September 2009 at 6.00pm
Present:
Ruth Doherty (Chair), Andy Sloan, Louisa Khane (minutes),
Graeme Esson, Mel Uncles, Nikki Sinclair, Liz Mahindru, Felicity Steers
Apologies:
Kerry Francis, Maggie Alexander, Sharon Fagan, Wendy McNaughton 1. Apologies - as shown above
2.
Minutes of previous meetings, Matters arising Dog Fouling - Ruth has contacted Baillie McNally and signs are on their way. Compost at front of building – Ruth & Felicity to take to allotments No. 374 bus – Ruth has contacted
bus company, no reply as yet Walking bus – volunteers wanted,
announced in school newsletter Prayer facilities also arranged and
announced in newsletter Graeme to help with reinstating
school magazine 3. Natural Playground – meeting held with contractors last Thursday. Handover this Friday, however, H&S have raised several issues with the bridge (slack net, plastic steps) but hopefully will not delay the handover. Drain was recently dug up due to soil movement before the grass had taken hold. Also, huge ‘muddy puddle’ around base of wind turbine could cause problems. Felicity offered left over gravel to fill said puddle. ACTION: Felicity Natural Play Area Opening Ceremony – Thursday 1 October. Forestry Commission to help with funding and Linda McIlroy to utilise hospitality budget. Also, some money left from the £1000 donated by RES. Ceremony will be driven by the PC. Activities suggested so far are willow workers, wood snappers (photographers), drummers, pipe band, story tellers. It was agreed that there would need to be several activities per class to keep the children occupied. Mrs Mahindru to enlist ideas from staff and professionals. ACTION: MRS MAHINDRU Stephen Purcell, leader of GCC to ‘cut the ribbon’ at 12.00 of official opening. At ribbon cutting it was suggested that a representative of each class to be at the opening ceremony and to run on to play area. However, it was also noted that the whole school should be involved in the ceremony. Other suggestions included inviting ex-pupils who were involved in the play area, HT of OLA, also representatives from the council to reflect their substantial financial commitment to the project. Also invite all sponsors and those who offered help along. Louisa to forward list of sponsors. ACTION: LOUISA Mrs Mahindru to ask Fuel Zone for assistance in the catering for the ceremony. Tea/Coffee and cake was agreed. ACTION:MRS MAHINDRU Graeme volunteered to do the publicity and has already started on the BBC to get them to cover the story. BBC may come earlier for photo shoot as a ‘kids playing’ photo holds more interest than the ‘ribbon cutting’ itself. Louisa to forward to Graeme any contacts in the local press. ACTION:GRAEME/LOUISA It was decided to give parents a preview of the natural play area to alleviate any worries or misconceptions. Evening tour -18.30 on Monday 7 September 2009. Day-time tour to be 14.30 on Wednesday 9 September 2009. Nikki, Louisa and Felicity have volunteered to help with Ruth childminding but as many PC members as possible would be preferred. ACTION:ALL/ Nikki/ Louisa/ Felicity It was agreed that all PC members should gather ideas for the activities based on budget available and practicality. The ceremony should last @2 hours to allow all pupils to have a chance to participate. Start with speaker from PC, then a pupil, then Mr Purcell to do the ribbon cutting. Also, suggested that a tree be planted by the youngest pupil and the oldest pupil. Felicity has an oak tree that she can donate. Also, each pupil to be given a snowdrop bulb to plant in the wooded area. It was suggested that this could be done with two classes on the play area at a time. ACTION:FELICITY As the children won’t have much time to actually play on the site, it was agreed that they should have access to the area immediately after handover. However, muddy shoes has been raised as a concern by some. Mrs Mahindru to ensure that all pupils are educated in how to play and then enter the school responsibly. It should be noted that cleaning services do not think it is an issue due to the good quality of the floor surfaces in the school. Mrs Mahindru noted that the school will feature in this weeks TESS - focusing on the environmental aspect of the school and our green credentials. Hopefully they will not focus too much on the play area prematurely. 4. Dog Fouling - - Ruth has contacted Baillie McNally and signs are on their way. 5. Traffic management - Local resident complained, in writing, regarding parking in her disabled space. It seems that this may be an old letter and issue is now resolved. Flashing 20mph signs on Kinalty Road, Ashmore Road and Elrig Road at bridge to be relocated. Ruth to contact Baillie McNally and Harry Laird Asst. Chief Eng. ACTION:RUTH 6. Final demands were found in the school office for non payment of letting fees – a magnificent sum of £14.00. Nikki rapidly wrote the cheque. Ruth to arrange either collection of PC mail or to be sent home with her daughter. ACTION:RUTH 7. Re-routing the path up the side of the school is getting a poor response due to council pleading lack of funds. It was general consensus that a path with gate, directly into the school campus would be preferable. Felicity to take photos to illustrate the congestion problem. ACTION: FELICTY 8. AGM – proposed 21ST September – same night as PA AGM. Ruth to liaise with PA to either have a joint AGM or one after the other. Mel to raise awareness amongst the P1 mums. ACTION: RUTH/MEL
9.
Trees and bushes from
woodland trust still in allotment but Felicity feels that they could benefit
from another year to mature. Forestry Commission to publish A4 leaflet on our
Natural play area. Enterprise bridge facing issues over where to build it as
engineers want indoors but we don’t want floors damaged. 10. Next Meeting, Monday 7 September 7.00pm after the parents’ tour. Merrylee Primary SchoolMinutes of Meeting held 15th June 2009 at 6.30pm
Present: Ruth Doherty (Chair), Maggie Alexander (minutes), Graeme Esson, Sharon Fagan, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Wendy McNaughton, Nikki Sinclair, Ashley Weir, Colette Haddock, Liz Mahindru
Apologies: Kerry Francis
1. Apologies – Received from Kerry Francis
2. Minutes from Previous Meeting & Recent Activity
- Thanks to Felicity for the powerpoint presentation regarding new playground. - Thanks to Nikki for organising the training courses. OLA were invited to event. - Staff gift had been given and Liz Mahindru & Collette Haddock passed thanks on behalf of all staff. - There is now a box in foyer for parents suggestions. Louisa put a section on the website regarding this and it will appear in next newsletter. - Parents open day was successful and positive feedback has been received. - Correspondence received from Baillie McNally confirming that signs would be put up around pitch in an attempt to prevent dog fowling. These signs have not yet appeared. Ruth will send a reminder letter. ACTION: RD - There is still an amount of compost outside school. Some people indicated that they would take some of this and the remainder should be passed over to the allotments. - It will appear in next newsletter for new members to join PC. ACTION: RD - The charge for the school let for meeting to be queried. ACTION: MA - Memorial for Mr Mallon: Alan Kane was invited into the school and his idea is for 3 benches which will carry messages of how the children remember Mr Mallon. This will be open to submission for everyone.
3. Natural Playground Update Steering group met on 7th May. There is a delay due to wet weather throughout most of May. Completion is due end June. The log seats and large trees have been delivered. Ruth will write to Robert Booth at the Council to see if we can have the turf which may be leftover from a project in Ayrshire. ACTION: RD An oak tree has been ordered from Germany and will be due to arrive end June. The grass will not be ready for play until August. Next meeting of steering group due to take place on 19th June. The Evening Times are to run another feature which will be due to appear week commencing 22nd June. It is felt that not enough watering has been done. The contractor had been invited to the meeting of the Steering group but no response received.
4. Scooter Park A scooter park has been ordered for installation. Brochure was passed around the meeting and everyone was happy with design.
5. Parent Council Website It was suggested that as well as putting events on the website we should post notices outside the school. The congestion of traffic and potential danger of the speed of the No. 374 bus was raised. Ruth has written to the company responsible for the bus and will keep on at them. ACTION: RD Liz Mahindru passed comments to Iain Sharp and Catherine Cosgrove on the problems of parents collecting their children from school. Sharon Fagan passed around a map of the surrounding area of the school with varying routes to school. It was suggested that the map be expanded out and also walking routes added. ACTION: SF The problem of the parking of coaches used for school outings was raised as there was potential for a lot of congestion outside of school. It was suggested if possible they park on Merrylee Rd or Monreith Rd.
6. School Travel Plan The children are currently working on the Travel Plan. It was suggested that members of the Parent Council work with the children on ideas of a walking bus. Interested parties should contact Collette Haddock. ACTION: ALL
7& 8. New P1 Intake / Composite Classes It was clarified that there would be an intake of 62 P1 pu;ils next term. This would be handled by two P1 classes and a composite P1/P2.
9. Prayer Facilities It was agreed that the PC would put forward the option for prayer facilities during school hours. This would be put in the newsletter. ACTION: RD
10. Any Other Business Potential for 2nd hand uniforms was raised. It was agreed that uniform items should be handed into the Heart, Chest & Stroke Charity Shop in the Clarkston Road (opposite Coupar Inst).
Presentation to Mr McAuley would be done at the P7 assembly. The children would do a separate presentation on the last day of term at the school assembly.
The school magazine which used to be produced by the School Board has not been published since Parent Council took over. It was suggested that this should be reinstated. Graeme indicated he would be happy to help on this. We shall discuss further next term. ACTION: GE/ALL
11. Next Meeting To be held on Monday 31st August at 6.30pm.
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council Meeting
Minutes of Meeting held at Conference Room, Merrylee Primary School
Monday 20th April 2009 at
6.30pm
Ruth opened
the meeting by thanking those attending the meeting and passing on the apologies
for those unable to attend.
Louisa contacted
The Extra (or The Merrylee Advertiser as it has become better known) regarding
the “Welcome Concert” but no article was published.
Ruth & Felicity
progressing with arrangements for stand promoting the natural play area at
forthcoming coffee morning. Action: RD & FS
Nikki Sinclair has
organised for 2 training courses to be run at the school on 11 May 2009 and 1
June 2009. The first course will be on the subject of “Internet Safety” with the
following course being on the subject of “Homework and Getting the most out of a
Parent Council” Nikki will e-mail members of the parent council with details of
these courses. Action:NS
It was also agreed
that Ruth would contact the Parent Council of OLA to invite them to attend these
courses. Nikki to provide contact details to Ruth.
3.
Natural Playground Update
Ruth Doherty
attended a site meeting with the contractor on 3 April 2009 and reported that
98% of shaping and 95% of planting has been completed. The tree planting and
landscaping has also been done. Ruth however pointed out that these figures are
misleading because much of the planting is sub-standard and will need to be
re-done. Felicity also advised that the tree planting is inadequate as the trees
have not been adequately staked but, as the contractor has done the staking in
accordance with the plans provided by Glasgow City Council, the contractor is
under no obligation to amend. It was suggested that a team of volunteers could
rectify this after the contractor is off-site.
The Parent Council
had concerns with these issues but it was pointed out by Liz that, as the
council is responsible for the maintenance of the play area for the first year,
these issues should not present any great difficulties and agreed that no action
required at present.
Ruth also reported
that Huck Construction, who has the contract to build the bridge feature, is
negotiating to replace metal components of the bridge with wooden ones.
Sharon Henderson has collected donations for a staff gift. Ruth proposed that we organise this informally and present it to the school staff in due course. Action: SH, RD
There was a great
deal of discussion as to the best method of getting feedback from parents the
conclusion of which was that a “Post-it notice board” or other suitable feedback
element be added to the Parent Council website. It was also suggested that an
e-mail address could be set up for this purpose.
Action: LK
It was agreed
that parents should be informed about these ways of providing feedback in the
next newsletter and that more publicity about the website is required.
Ruth raised
the issue that there is no allocated area in which to store children’s scooters
at the new school. Mrs Mahindru agreed to give this matter due consideration and
report back at a later date.
Action: LM 7.
Invitation to OLA Parent Association
The Parent Council
is keen to establish a good relationship with the Parent Council of OLA and to
this end Ruth looked for suggestions for possible social events for this
purpose. It was agreed that Ruth would contact parents of OLA to invite them to
attend the forthcoming training courses at Merrylee Primary School.
Louisa raised the
issue of pupil progress and expressed concern that there is confusion amongst
parents as to the grading/levels of attainment in regard to pupil progress and
suggested that parents would benefit from further explanation and clarification.
It was also suggested that information could be updated on the schools website
to assist parents in their understanding of the issues.
Liz and Colette
suggested that more positive publicity is required to inform parents about the
good work that the school is doing in this regard and proposed that the School
Open Day would be a good forum for informing parents.
There has been a
great deal of concern from parents and staff about traffic and human congestion,
and the Health & safety implications, at school playground entrances on Friarton
Road at the beginning and close of the school day.
Liz reported that she had been in
contact with Harry Laird, an engineer at Glasgow City Council, to have
improvements made.
Felicity proposed that the best way to
improve the situation would be to draw up a layout plan with recommendations for
improving the situation. It was agreed that Felicity will liaise with Liz
Mahindru to come up with a proposal which can then be submitted to Glasgow City
Council.
Action: LM & FS
(i)
Dog Fouling on new school pitch
– Ruth agreed to send a letter to Councillor McNally, requesting that appropriate signage be placed around the
perimeter fence to avoid a re-occurrence of this.
Action: RD
(ii) Garden tools and other detritus abandoned at school during planting – all those who have left tools etc at the school are reminded to collect it. Action: All
(iii)
New members for Parent Council –
Kerrie raised the point that we will
need to replace members of the Parent Council at the end of the 2 year period.
We also need representation from a parent of a pupil in P3 as this is the only
school year which is not represented on the PC. Ruth will add this point to the
forthcoming newsletter. Action:RD
(iv)
School Lets-
Liz reminded the Parent Council that we require to organise a formal let of the
school facilities for future meetings etc. Maggie agreed to organise this. Action: MA
(v)
Memorial
for Frank Mallon
–
Liz will commission a local artist, who works with wood, to design a suitable
memorial.
Action: LM
6.30pm, 15th of June 2009
at Conference Room, Merrylee Primary School.
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council Parent Council Meeting 23rd February 2009 at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School Present: Wendy McNaughton (minutes), Ruth Doherty (chair), Graeme Esson, Ashley Weir, Andy Sloan, Nicola Sinclair, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Liz Mahindru, Colette Haddock
Apologies: Maggie Alexander, Kerrie Francis, Sharon Fagan, Felicity Steers, Lesley Best 1. Ruth opened the meeting, thanking attendees and passing on apologies from the above 2. Points from previous meeting Louisa was to contact "The Extra" regarding the welcome concert , but is waiting until closer to the date Action: LK Ruth and Felicity awaiting date for coffee morning to progress with the stand promoting the new playground. Date received and will now proceed. Ruth redirected the information request from Kings Park PC re catchment areas to the School. Ruth has also downloaded the report on how natural play works and will send link to Louisa to post on the PC website Action: RD & LK
3. Update on New School Work has started on the construction of the wind turbine. RSBI has built all furniture and is now on the new school premises. CBC have started to turf the external areas as opposed to seed, concerns were raised about the maintenance of the turf by LM, such as watering and being directly at the boundary of the school and pavement. 4. Playground Contractors onsite within 2 weeks and work to take around 10 weeks. Allotment holders keen to help with shrubs and National Trust still keen to help. LM concerned about grass bordering directly onto street, possibility of hawthorn hedge to create a border, FS to advise as services under ground may cause problems. LM to notify LK about date for uplift of trees from Hidden Gardens NS asked for clarification on playgrounds and use by OLA. LM asked that she be allowed to deal with the issues surrounding use.
5.
Nursery Provision Consultation documents issued on proposed merger of nurseries. It was agreed that the Parent Council would support keeping the nurseries separate. Will only save £12k if nurseries merged.
6. Parent Council
Courses RD attended fundraising course and highly recommended it. Good ideas generated such as pyjama day, race nights, fashion shows, ladies nights, calendars, fridge magnets etc. Proceeds help purchase sports equipment, theatre visits, library resources etc Ruth will attend the next liability insurance course.
7.
AOB NS
suggested that workshops be organised, in
school for parents, for homework strategies and for internet safety.
The internet safety course was run at OLA
and was very good.
NS to get dates for.
Action: NS Kathryn Farrow advised of Effective Meetings course being run for PC's. RD likely to attend. PC account balance of £435 needs to moved out by year end. Discussed items money could be spent on. LM suggested new plants for inside the new school building. Backchat newsletter received as requested AS informed PC of outreach vocational talks going on in schools aimed at top end of primary pupils on science and engineering. PC agreed this was a good idea and look at implementing into enterprise week. SH informed
PC that the PA would be fully up and running once the school move has taken
place, with lots of fun events planned.
8. Date of next Parent Council
Meeting Next
meeting in the new school building - Monday 20th April 2009 at 6.30pm Meeting closed at 7.20pm
Minutes of Meeting held 12th
February 2009 at 7pm
Reference:
New
Present:
Jim Wilson, Head of Performance & Asset
Management-GCC
Iain
MacNab, Service Head-Project Management
Design-GCC
Iain Sharpe, Project Manager-GCC
Catherine Cosgrove-Architect,
Auston-Smith:Lord
Matt
Ferrie, Construction Director-CBC
Robin Aiken, Contracts Manager-CBC
Councillor James McNally, Newlands/Auldburn
Liz Mahindru,
Ruth Doherty, Chair-Merrylee Parent Council
Staff Members from
Members from Parent Council, Pupil Council, Parent Association & Parent Forum
This meeting had been
arranged to update parents on the reasons for the delay to the completion of new
school building.
Ruth invited questions
from the audience at this point, starting with the Pupil Council.
Pupils felt that most of their points had already been covered by the
guests who had spoken, but did ask the Contractor if they had enough manpower on
the job, and CBC answered by explaining the main problem for them was the sub
contractor who had gone out of business well into the contract.
The following were a selection of the questions and answers raised:-
A
Approximately 2 weeks.
The council will apply to Scottish Exec for permission to
close schooling for 2 days to allow the move.
IT and furniture will be installed and hopefully it
will be fully functional within 2 weeks.
Q
Will this date be assured?
A
Council representatives could not give assurances but did
say that the task would be given full priority.
They claimed that it would not be held up for minor
snagging items which could be carried out at a later date.
Q
What type of things would possibly delay the completions
certificate?
A
Commissioning of heating & ventilation systems, Fire alarm
system & kitchen.
Q
Will the nursery children move at the same time?
A
It was confirmed that they would.
Q
Will all the facilities be available as soon as they move
in?
A
It was confirmed that everything would be available with
the exception of the natural play area.
While the new school was fully operational the
proposed natural play area would be fenced off while work took place.
There would be an area available for the children to
use for play.
Q
Would the natural play area be shared with others.
A
During this conversation Mrs Mahindru explained that we
were keen for this to be
a community project and would do all we could to
share comfortably with the pupils from OLA Primary and members of the local
community.
Q
Whose budget would cover the maintenance of the new school?
A
It was confirmed that this would come out of the education
budget.
Q
What traffic management system was in place at drop off
zone and surrounding areas?
A
This situation will be monitored when school is fully
operational.
Crossing patrollers in the areas are likely to be
moved to different positions.
Councillor McNally will look into the 20mph lights on
Q
Have they received Building Control approval.
A
It was confirmed that Building Control had approved the
school building.
Many parents questioned the timescale involved if the building was not accepted
during week commencing 16th
Feb.
No guarantees of timescale were given on this.
CBC confirmed that the school was completed to their
satisfaction, but council members could not give guarantees to handover dates if
it didn’t happen on 16th
Feb.
They claimed that priority would be given and completion
and move would be carried out as soon as possible thereafter.
It
was agreed that traffic system, utilisation of play areas and sports halls for
after school clubs would be monitored when school is fully operational. Merrylee Primary School Parent Council
Parent Council Meeting 12th January 2009 at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School
Present: Wendy McNaughton (minutes), Lesley Best, Ruth Doherty (chair), Graeme Esson, Sharon Fagan, Kerrie Francis, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Liz Mahindru, Felicity Steers, Colette Haddock Apologies: Nicola Sinclair, Ashley Weir, Maggie Alexander, Andy Sloan
1. Ruth opened the meeting, thanking attendees and passing on apologies from the above
2. Points from previous meetings Alison McKean from Scottish Power has no funds to help, but will pass on to colleagues Nikki was dealing with Greenspace who is now thought to be defunct as unable to be contacted. Louisa has contacted the National Trust who are waiting for a date from us to supply a volunteer to help with labour and expertise. Land Services are waiting for a date from us and will be contacted nearer the time. Graeme informed that BBC are interested in the story for their website and further coverage nearer the time. Ruth has sent a thank you letter for the £16,000 donation and to Cllr McNally
3. New School With regard to an opening ceremony for the new school, it was decided that there were enough events marking the event. Subject to the school being handed over on 14/01/09, the Coffee morning, Scottish Welcome Concert and an official opening by the Council are all planned. Louisa suggested contacting the Extra for coverage of the Concert Action: LK
4. Playground
5.
Wind Turbine
5.
Mr Mallon Memorial Fund
6. Kings Park Parent Council
P1 Full Time Start Proposal
Parent Council Courses
Possibility of a new National Parent Body. After discussion it was decided the PC did not support this idea.
9.
School Show
AOB
11. Date of next Parent Council Meeting
Meeting Closed at 8.05pm.
Parent Council
Meeting
held 24th
November 2008 at 6.30pm
at Present:
Parent Council
Sharon Fagan, Kerrie Francis, Sharon Henderson,
Louisa Khane, Liz Mahindru,
Felicity Steers Apologies:
Nicola Sinclair, Ashley Weir
1.
Apologies
Ruth opened the meeting, thanking attendees and passing on apologies from Nikki
Sinclair and Ashley Weir.
2.
Points from
previous meetings
With regard to the fundraising letters sent out, Ruth had a
voicemail back from Alison McKean at ScottishPower.
ACTION: RD
Ashley was not in attendance at meeting to ask for an update on B&Q and
Nikki was not in attendance to ask for an update on
Greenspace & Easy.
ACTION:
NS
Louisa contacted
National Trust who seemed keen.
She is awaiting a reply as to which area they are keen to
help, whether with funding or manpower.
ACTION:
LK
Donations website has now been set up by Louisa.
Land Services had been contacted with regard to trees etc.
They seemed willing to help on that and are
awaitingmeasurements.
ACTION:
LK
3.
New School
Linda McIlroy said handover would likely be 8th
December but with a few outstanding items to be done, i.e. hall floor, missing
light fittings etc.
Liz Mahindru was going on Friday 12th
Dec to look at IT.
Traffic Problem – This would have to wait until we moved in
and we can monitor the situation.
A One-way system has been dismissed.
Ian Sharpe had informed by letter that we had missed an
opportunity for CBC to install the concrete base for the wind turbine.
Graeme Esson informed that he would see if there was any
interest in the opening of the
4.
Playground
We received £16,000 funding from Newlands &
Auldburn
community.
A letter of thanks should be sent to Linda Devlin
for her help & support.
ACTION: RD
Gate to allotments – Linda McIlroy would find funding for the gate.
5.
Memorial Fund
Discussion took place on best suggestions for the Memorial Fund for Mr Mallon.
George
McNeillie (parent) from the
6.
AOB
Some “Yellow Moon” Christmas catalogues were handed out to
distribute among friends to aid the fundraising.
7.
Date of next Parent Council Meeting
Monday 12th
January 2009 at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School Merrylee Primary School Parent Council Parent Council Meeting held 27th October 2008 at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School
Present: Parent Council Maggie Alexander (minutes), Lesley Best, Ruth Doherty (chair), Graeme Esson, Sharon Fagan, Kerrie Francis, Colette Haddock, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Liz Mahindru, Ashley Weir Apologies: Nicola Sinclair, Andy Sloan, Felicity Steers Ruth opened the meeting, thanking attendees and passing on the apologies. 1. New School Liz Mahindru gave an update on the new school building. She had gone to the site and site manager gave 5th December as handover date. There was a Site Meeting scheduled for later in the week with the Contractors but neither Liz nor Ian Sharpe had been invited to attend. Austin-Smith:Lord (Architects) may allow the furniture/IT Contractors access to the building to get on with the furnishing/IT, to save further delays. 2. Playground Andy Sloan spoke with Ian Sharpe regarding the removal of compost heap, and was told it would be moved the following week. Ruth also spoke with Ian Sharpe and was informed that the contractor who would move the compost was no longer in business and they were in the process of getting a new contractor. When new contractor was assigned they would get the compost moved over the following weekends. Funding We learned that we could get a further £16,000 funding via the Newlands & Auldhouse Community. It was suggested that Ian Sharpe/Direct Works should be put in as the drivers of the project, to manage the fund. As the funding stands at the moment we are looking at £30,000 from Glasgow City Council, £30,000 from Forrestry Commission and £16,000 from Newlands & Auldhouse Community. Alison Campbell (a parent) will be happy to speak with Rouken Glen Garden Centre on funding, as she used to work there. Liz will follow up with the Forrestry Commission on further help, as they have agreed to build an outdoor classroom/shelter. SUST is another potential funder we are looking at. They support initiatives to preserve green spaces. It was agreed that a donation section would be set up on paypal. It is hoped that Mrs Pattie will be able to assist in setting up the link on the website. Louisa offered to write to Land Services (cc Ian Sharpe) asking if we could have the spare trees/logs lying around in various Glasgow Parks. Form Filling A meeting was planned for Wednesday 8th October to try and get the funding application forms completed. There was a P1 mum offered to help on this. 3. Date of next Parent Council Meeting Monday 24th November at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School Meeting Closed at 7.25pm.
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council
1st Annual General Meeting held 6th October 2008 at 7.30pm at Merrylee Primary School
Present: Parent Council Maggie Alexander (minutes), Lesley Best, Ruth Doherty, Sharon Fagan, Colette Haddock, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Frank Mallon, Nicola Sinclair (chair), Andy Sloan, Ashley Weir
Parent Forum Alison Cameron, Richard Copeland, Graeme Esson, Ian Mansbull, Wendy McNaughton, Emmanuel Moses, Ann Rave, Nausheen Shah, Felicity Steers, Sue Stewart, Gregor Wishart
Staff Caroline Deans, Liz Mahindru, Irene Sutherland
Nicola Sinclair opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. She explained the role of the Parent Council, and pointed out that we also have the Parents Association running separately.
1. Chair’s Report Nicola thanked Council members, past and present for their efforts over the past year. She explained how we have been actively involved in a number of areas, i.e. Attainment/Achievement, Language Development, Organise Key Speaker, Organise Multicultural event to mark the opening of the new school, and managed to raise the profile of the school in the local press. Our main efforts in the past year have focused on the proposed playground area of the new school, primarily in the fund raising, as we are £30,000 short for the completion of our playground. We have received funding from the Forestry Commission (£30,000) and Glasgow City Council (£30,000).
The Parent Council will be approaching all parents of the school for help in either funding or labour (mainly planting etc) for the playground.
Special thanks was given to Felicity Steers for her efforts as landscape architect in the proposed development of the playground.
2. Treasurer’s Report Sharon Henderson confirmed the financial status of the Parent Council and gave a breakdown of all transactions. Council receives £435 per annum to help toward administration costs etc.
3. Head Teacher’s Report Liz Mahindru pointed out that she was not a member of the Council but was invited along as advisor. She explained that due to this being the first year in existence for the Parent Council, the members needed a bit of time and support to get set up and find their way. She conveyed disappointment in the lack of feedback from the Parent Forum, and urged parents to please put all views forward to a member of the Council.
Liz went on to explain that since the Parent Council has been in place, members have managed to make contact with, and obtain answers from personnel at Glasgow City Council to get things moving, possibly getting quicker results than she herself could have achieved.
She passed her thanks and gratitude, on behalf of everyone, to Felicity Steers for her expertise and assistance in the design of the playground.
Finally, Liz thanked Council members for all their efforts and wished them all the best for next year.
4. AOCB
Parent Forum & New Council Members It was pointed out to the Parent Forum that there were currently 2 vacancies on the Council and it was requested that any parents willing to join the Council should make their intentions known to a member of the Council after the meeting.
The Parent Forum were invited to ask any questions in relation to the set up and running of the Council.
One parent asked what was involved in being a Council member, and it was explained that the only requirement was an interest in the running of the school. Over the past year the fundraising on the new playground has been the main focus.
New Playground We have not received a Plant List of costings from the Council yet. We shall try to push them on this as we require it before contacting companies we are targeting for funding/ sponsorship, so that the companies can chose an item(s) from the list.
It was pointed out by Liz Mahindru that the £30,000 grant from the Forestry Commission would have to be spent by February 2009.
A very large amount of earth would have to be removed before the landscaping of the playground could begin. We shall propose to meet with Ian Sharpe of Glasgow City Council to get the latest report on this.
Language Development Mrs Deans outlined to the Forum her Language Development programme and explained how she was keen to get interested parties in on this.
5. Re-election of Council Members
After the meeting, Nicola Sinclair handed chair to Ruth Doherty. No objections were raised to this change.
Three new members agreed to join the Council. Graeme Esson, Wendy McNaughton and Felicity Steers.
6. Date of next Parent Council Meeting
Monday 27th October at 6.30pm at Merrylee Primary School
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council Minutes of Meeting held on 22nd September 2008 at 7.30pm – at Merrylee Primary School Main Building
Present: Maggie Alexander (Minutes), Lesley Best, Ruth Doherty (Chair), Sharon Fagan, Kerrie Francis, Sharon Henderson, Louisa Khane, Andy Sloan, Ashley Weir, Liz Mahindru, Frank Mallon, Collette Haddock
Apologies: Nikki Sinclair
Ruth opened and chaired meeting in Nikki’s absence.
1. Playground Update Ashley still to contact B&Q. It was suggested that if we get B&Q on board then it would be worth trying Homebase, explaining to them that B&Q were happy to fund. Action: Ashley Weir
Ashley compiled a presentation to send to Beechgrove Garden. It was decided against using photos of the children. A few points needed clarifying before sending letter to Beechgrove, with regard to monetary amount of funding required. It was clarified that £90,000 was required. We are expecting £30,000 from Forestry Commission and £30,000 from Glasgow City Council. Action: Ashley Weir
It was agreed that we shall wait until we have a plant list before looking further afield for sponsorship, so we can perhaps give them a list to choose which item(s) to sponsor.
Ruth will contact local businesses on her mail shot. She will contact Renewable Energy Systems and was wondering what figure to pitch at. It was decided to aim for £30,000.
Louisa will contact The National Trust on the possibility of conservation volunteers to do some planting. Timescale for the planting would be late November. Action: Louisa
It was suggest we contact Agriculture colleges for advice/assistance (Auchincruive).
Greenspace are providing the bridge for the nursery school. (Amendment - The bridge provided by Greenspace was for Eastwood Nursery.)
Carillion has offered its services.
We have received full funding for wind turbine. “Awards for all” application pack – Nikki is dealing with this. We shall check the status of the application at our next meeting. Action: Nikki
Mr Mallon will notify parents regarding the funding and labour required. It was suggested that this be added to the newsletter to save on paper.Action: Mr Mallon
We have the grant application pack from Scottish National Heritage, and we intend to apply for £10,000 grant. Application needs to be submitted by 1st April. Action: Lesley/Sharon H
The subject of maintenance of the grounds was raised and Mrs Mahindru informed the council that the maintenance would be driven by Ian Sharpe, but any replacing of plant/material would be down to the school.
2. New School Building A request was made by members of the PC to visit the new school building. Mrs Mahindru explained she would try to arrange for this, but it was difficult at the moment and requested that we leave it for a few weeks. Last time there was a visit only 4 persons were allowed. The visit would have to be at 3pm on a Friday. ACTION: Await Mrs Mahindru to let us know
Mrs Mahindru informed the meeting that the handover date was still 11th November. One week would be required for the IT, and Blindcraft people would come in regarding the furniture. Hopeful to move in 2 weeks after 11th November.
Mrs Mahindru informed the Council that she had a meeting with some teachers from OLA Primary School. She got the impression that they may have been misled as to the amount of sharing time allowed on the sports facility (i.e. pitch). The focus was kept positive on the sharing side of facilities. Council is looking for a fee of £10,000 to administer a contract to this effect. Andy Sloan will discuss this with the council. Action: Andy
3. PARENT COUNCIL VACANCIES There was no response to the two council vacancies posted in the school newsletter. Louisa will put an appeal on the Evening Times website. (Amendment – appeal is for fundraising not vacancies) Action: Louisa
During the parent council meeting, a meeting of P1 parents was going on at the same time. Mr Mallon asked if any new P1 parents would be interested in joining the Council. Some parents did pop in briefly to the Council meeting to get a flavour of what is involved. It was suggested that we make all new P1 parents aware of the Parent Council and invite any interested parties to join. Action: ALL
4. AGM The AGM will take place on Monday 6th October at 7.30PM.
5. Any Other Business
Kings Park Secondary Mrs Mahindru read out notes from the Kings Park Secondary Parent Council, which were sent to Louisa Khane, which related to catchment areas for Kings Park. It was decided that this was not something that Merrylee Parents should have any concerns about just at the moment. We shall leave it until anything further arises.
The meeting closed at 8.40pm.
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council
Informal Discussion
11 September 2008 at 7.30pm – * Merrylee Road, Glasgow
Present: Maggie Alexander (Minutes), Lesley Best, Ruth Doherty, Sharon Fagan, Kerrie Francis, Sharon Henderson, Nicola Sinclair (Chair), Ashley Weir
An informal discussion took place primarily regarding the new playground. Various suggestions were put forward on how to fund the playground.
Funding
1. An application pack for “Awards for All” was given to Nikki, who will arrange to have it completed. Action: Nikki/Maggie
2. It was agreed that an appeal letter to be sent to BBC Beechgrove Garden requesting a playground feature in their “makeovers”. It was agreed that it may have more appeal if this was sent from Pupil Council perhaps with a photograph of some children. It was agreed that the photograph would be of the children of the Parents on PC to minimise the administration of consent forms being sent to all parents. Action: Ashley/ALL
3. It was agreed that B&Q would be approached to request sponsorship/funding Action: Ashley
4. It was agreed that a Sponsorship/Fund Raising letter be sent to all suitable Charities. Action: Ruth
5. A database of Charities would be set up and maintained by Ruth with the help of Kerrie. Action: Ruth/Kerrie
6. It was agreed that we would contact Scottish National Heritage to find out if we would qualify for a grant. Action: Lesley/Sharon H
7. Pay for plant. Kerrie and Sharon Fagan will liaise with Colette Haddock on the possibility of pupils paying to plant a shrub etc with an appropriate plaque against it.
8. Suggested that a letter be sent to people with gardening/horticulture experience for help and advice. Also contact Gardening/Landscaping companies for either donations/sponsorship and/or advice. Action: Nikki
General 9. The Parent Council committee would like a visit to the grounds arranged.
10. The point was raised as to how the maintenance of the grounds would be funded and how the manpower would be provided.
Next date for Formal meeting of Parent Council will be Monday 22nd Sept at 7.30pm at Merrylee Primary School Main Building.
Merrylee Primary School Parent Council
Minutes of Meeting
1st September 2008 at 6.30pm – at Merrylee Primary School Main Building
As the Secretary’s post was vacant when the above meeting took place, there are no official Minutes of Meeting from 1st September, although below is a list of points discussed.
1. New School Playground Felicity will provide a costing and plant list.
So far, ideas for the new playground are as follows:-
Allotments: Can they help by growing shrubs for us?
Children’s Orchard: Nikki has phoned them and they can offer advice on planting and help in organising volunteers for planting.
Sourcing trees/plants: Felicity has will contact McLarens Nursery.
B&Q: Should be approached regarding sponsorship/funding.
Fundraising: School to incorporate parents/pupils buying plants or trees e.g. £1 a plant £50 a tree. Mrs Haddock to co-ordinate.
Possibility of local businesses supporting, Company name could go on a plaque by the tree/plant.
We shall apply for Lottery Awards for All.
Nikki will enquire on Greenspace funding.
A letter is to be drafted to parents to update them on the plans for the playground.
2. Parent Council There are two vacancies which have been posted in the school newsletter.
3. AGM Possible dates for the AGM are 6th or 20th October.
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